


Time Bomb

by SheepWolfe



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Deleted Scenes, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Slight fluff, i love the gays, set between volume 6 and 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheepWolfe/pseuds/SheepWolfe
Summary: Yang has a breakdown and lashes out at Ruby. None of the team knows how to respond and what to do after Yang storms out into the storage bay of the airship, not quite used to seeing the strongest member of team RWBY so emotionally strained. Ruby is worried but reluctant to seek out Yang for fear of merely making it worse. Nobody knows what to do.Except for Blake. Blake knows what to do.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 67





	Time Bomb

All the stress was getting to be too much.

Yang had barely had a break this entire time, barely a chance to just sit and cry with nobody watching. Many of her friends around her were struggling, and Yang had to do her best to uphold the morale. They were finally on their way to Atlas, and everyone was exhausted. Especially Blake. Blake wasn't doing so good since they killed Adam. Jesus Christ, she still hadn't come to terms with it.

Now they were just sitting there, doing nothing. Waiting to arrive in Atlas. And the stress was building up inside her.

But Yang was sick of holding it in. She felt like exploding. Her gaze fixated on her robotic arm and she felt a sudden impulse to just tear it off. She didn't want the cold metal attached to her body, not right now, it wasn't the real part of her and it didn't belong. Adam was still fucking with her, even though he was dead. Chaos still ensued in his wake. She still kept seeing him, kept _feeling_ his spirit just watching her. She wanted to cry, but crying was weak. It's what he'd have wanted. To make her cry in front of her team, in front of everyone.

Crying made her weak.

Blake was leaning against her arm, likely sleeping, her hand still clutching Yang's. Yang's hand, flesh and bone. That was hers. That was her real arm, that hadn't been stolen, that was still hers. Adam hadn't ruined her left arm. She clenched the robotic fist and continued to stare at it with a burning, harsh gaze. Hearing someone slide down next to her gently, she narrowed her eyes in discomfort and annoyance. Yang did not want to talk right now.

"Hey, Yang. How are you holding up? You don't look so good." The lowered voice of her sister, Ruby, broken through the heavy silence encompassing the ship.

Yang didn't raise her eyes up to meet Ruby's silver ones, her gaze unmoving from her clenched fist in a desperate move to keep herself calm, yet only managing to anger herself more. Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. "I'm fine, Ruby."

Ruby stared at her clearly discontented sister with her eyes narrowed. It wasn't often that Yang completely blew her off like that. She didn't believe it for a second. "Yang, come on, you know I know you better than that." She whispered, voice careful and cautious.

Yang's eyes raised up slightly to look at Ruby. They had a slight red tint of anger that made Ruby shiver, almost causing her to back off. Yang was clearly irked by her presence. But she couldn't just give up, Yang was her sister and she had to make sure she was alright. As the leader of team RWBY, she had to take care of her teammates, sister or not. Ruby almost jumped as Yang's voice came out with a slight tremble. "Do you really?" She muttered, regarding her harshly.

Ruby's eyes widened a little in shock and confusion. Did Yang really... "What?" She asked, tone full of surprise.

"I said, do you really know me better than that?" Yang's voice had begun to raise a little. She felt the weight on her left side disappear and the hand in hers fall away. This caused the fiery blonde additional stress, the only thing keeping her moderately calm disappearing. "Please, Ruby, just leave me alone."

"Yang, no, I can't leave you alone, you're not--" 

Ruby was abruptly interrupted as Yang spontaneously flew to her feat in anger, eyes flashing red. "You heard me, leave me alone!" She snapped. Everyone sat around the pair seemed to recoil in shock and Yang looked around, her own eyes wide. Her brow quickly furrowed and she darted to the back, heading into the storage bay without another word. This was likely her plan for the rest of the journey, much to Ruby's dismay.

"Yang!" Ruby called after her distressed sister, gaining nothing as Yang disappeared. Ruby pursed her lips in frustration, thinking hard as to what to do. "Ahh, I have to go talk to her... But she'll be mad if I follow... Ah, damn, we should have spoken sooner..."

"Ruby, it's okay." Blake interjected from the floor in an attempt to calm the younger girl down. "I'll go talk to her."

Ruby was silent for a moment, but then smiled and gave Blake an understanding nod. "Okay, Blake. I trust you, and so does Yang."

Blake nodded back, taking in a deep breath before standing up and following where Yang had gone into the cargo hold. Yang was her best friend, she was sure she could help calm her down. She knew exactly what she was currently going through, and had the feeling that perhaps maybe they were having the same thoughts.

It would be helpful to talk it out between themselves. They had barely had time to catch their breath, and some stuff really fucking needed to be spoken about.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Yang sat in the empty space, legs drawn up to her chest and face hidden. Her robotic arm had been disconnected and tossed haphazardly to the side of her, leaving her with her left arm, clung to her knees in distress, nails digging in. Her face was wet with tears. She felt like such a child. Just a fucking child, having a dumb tantrum. Remembering so long ago, being a child and dragging Ruby with her to the wilderness for a fruitless search. Nearly getting them killed. It was pathetic, really.

She was a child once more, constantly making the same stupid mistakes.

Constantly letting people down. 

Constantly letting her emotions get the better of her.

Just as a sob escaped her lips as the girl broke down, she heard the door of the bay open and let out a soft gasp. Lowering her knees slightly and letting her arm fall to the side, she continued to stare at the ground with an angry look.

"Ruby, I said to leave--"

She was interrupted by the door shutting and a familiar, soft voice. "It's Blake, actually."

Yang's head shot up and her gaze immediately met Blake's. She regretted this, seeing as Blake could now see the tear tracks down her face. Swallowing heavily, she tried to ignore this. "Blake, why are you- look, I'm fine, really, just go back-"

Blake approached and crouched down in front of Yang, taking her left hand in her own and eyes setting on their hands. Her fingers slowly but softly slid around Yang's, grasping the broken girl's hand gently. It was a gesture of affection that could easily be mistaken for reassurance, but Blake liked and preferred the ambiguity, much to Yang's discontent. Blake's free hand moved up to where Yang's right arm would have been attached, yet it was no longer there. However, there was no disgust on Blake's face. Not disappointment, not surprise, not anger, not sadness. Her expression was calm and appreciative as their eyes met. "You're clearly not fine." Blake whispered carefully. Her left hand moved up to Yang's face to gently touch the blonde's wet cheeks. 

"I... Fuck, Blake..." Yang gently pushed against Blake's palm with her cheek. She wanted to touch her hand with her own, but she had no arm to use. This only further pissed her off, tears springing to her eyes once more in her desperate frustration. "I want my fucking arm back. I know I'm supposed to have come to terms with it, I know I'm supposed to be stronger but sometimes I can't help but _want_ it so bad."

"I know, Yang. And I'm so sorry, but it's not coming back. I know you know that. I'm sorry Adam took that from you. But that doesn't make you any different. It doesn't make you any less of yourself. It makes you so much stronger to have fought so hard, but I won't look at you any differently. You're still the same Yang that I met, back at Beacon in the auditorium. I know you don't want special treatment, Yang. But you can't let Adam's selfish actions change who you are." Blake took her other hand and cradled Yang's face in both of her hands, as if she were admiring the girl's tear-stained face. Her expression was still calm. "Adam took something from everyone. I think that's what he liked to do. My freedom was stolen. My life was stolen. And you-" Blake moved her hand back to Yang's lost arm. "Your arm was stolen."

"But even though we killed him, even though he's gone..." Yang growled, averting her eyes from Blake as they welled with tears at the memories. "I can't stop remembering it. The moment. All of it. And having his f-fucking blood on my hands... It doesn't feel any better. It feels wrong."

"Revenge isn't sweet, Yang. I know that. It feels good if you're a psychopath, but you're _not_." Blake mumbled. She moved back from the girl but still remained in close proximity, able to get a better look at Yang. "But every time you remember, just hold my hand, okay? I said. I'm not breaking my promise this time. _Never_." Her voice wavered slightly. "You're not Adam at all. He was a psychopath. He was the worst thing that ever happened to me, and you... You're the best."

Yang pursed her lips, looking down at her lap quietly. "I don't know what to think, Blake. It's all so fucked up. Ozpin, those Grimm, Atlas... Adam. I thought we caught a break, but I was so fucking wrong." 

Blake gently moved to slide next to Yang, leaning a little on her left side. She interlocked their fingers once more, looking up at the ceiling of the cargo hold. "Yeah. Trust me, I don't... I've never killed someone before, Yang. Until then. And even though it was him, even though it was Adam, some sick part of me still loved him and thought he'd change or just leave me alone. I didn't want to kill him. I don't believe he deserved it, even after everything, even after he scarred us both."

"No, I don't... I don't think any of us have ever _killed_ someone, Blake. I feel the same way as you. He did awful, awful things to both of us, but I... I don't know if he deserved to _die_." Yang murmured, her fingers lightly gripping Blake's hand as she remembered the feeling of the blade sinking into Adam's flesh. It was not a good feeling, and Adam's death was not glorified or dignified. It was not hopeful. It was not freeing, or refreshing. He fell off the edge of a cliff, into the rapids below, almost as if he was falling straight into Hell itself. 

"I think we need to stop asking ourselves _why_ , or _if_. It happened. There's nothing we can do now, and Adam proved to us he wasn't going to give up. He was going to kill both of us." Blake swallowed heavily. She didn't want to justify them murdering him, but... What else could have happened? What were they supposed to do? Let him leave, only for him to return and continue to torment them? No, she had to stop considering other outcomes.

Gritting her teeth, Yang loosened their fingers and gripped her right shoulder and the stump where her arm should be. "Even though he... He took my arm, I don't... I didn't want to kill anyone, Blake, I..."

" I'm so... I'm sorry, Yang. Adam was selfish." Blake exhales. "He wanted everyone... To feel the same pain as him. He was branded across the face and permanently scarred, and so he did the same to you. To anyone with any significance to me." She whispered. "He was selfish. And jealous. Because he was a monster, and you were perfect. So while he lost something important to him, he stole it from you out of spite and selfishness. And that... That's my fault, Yang."

"Blake, no, no. It's not. Don't you dare say that." Yang snapped, turning to face Blake with her eyes narrowed in frustration. "It's not. It's Adam's fault that I lost my arm."

"I know, but... He knew how much I cared about you. He wanted to manipulate my feelings using you, and that's why I ran. Because I wanted you to hate me for what happened. For what he did. Because I truly believed it was my fault." Blake gasped. Her own eyes were getting teary with each word. "But you're right. Adam was the one with the sword. I just feel a responsibility for the action he committed..."

"Adam was the jackass who hurt us both, okay?" Yang whispered softly, breath trembling as she spoke.

"You're the only person I know who could ever say 'jackass' softly and so romantically." Blake laughed quietly, a slight smile pulling at her lips in response to Yang's words.

"Eh, it's Yang's sweet charisma that's pulling through." Yang joked, trying to push a smile on her own lips.

Blake grinned before shuffling over slightly, grabbing Yang's robotic arm that had been discarded previously. She handed it to Yang with a serious look. "I'm not telling you to put it on. I know how it makes you feel. But I want you to accept it. Not because you have to, but to move on. To prove that you're stronger, that this doesn't fucking effect you. It may not be a part of you, and you may sometimes hate it, but Yang... I want you to accept yourself. Arm or no arm, love who you are. Don't do it for Adam, do it for me. Love yourself as much as I love you." Blake smiled gently, her eyes set on the yellow arm and hands caressing the tips of the robotic fingers. She seems to notice her slight slip up, covering her mouth. "You get what I mean."

Yang took a moment to process the words, but a slight smirk played onto her face. She wiped her tears away before pushing her arm back on and into place. "I do get what you mean." She leaned in closer to Blake, her newly reconnected robotic fingers sliding down to Blake's waist and softly gliding across the scar on her hip, left by Adam so long ago at the fall of Beacon. Blake seemed to jerk at the contact with the scar that she was well aware of, but quickly relaxed into the contact, trusting Yang. In one fluid motion, Yang moved her other hand smoothly around the back of Blake's head and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. Her metal thumb slid down the scar before moving behind Blake to rest in the small of her back. Their lips separated, almost as fast as they had connected. It was a surprise for Blake, who speedily hid her mouth in embarrassment.

"What was that for?" She asked, voice small and unaware. Blake had been anticipating this type of interaction, but thinking about it and it actually happening were very different things, especially after an incredibly emotionally taxing discussion. She was glad that their feelings were finally out in the open, however.

"Isn't it obvious? I love you too, stupid. Every part of you." Yang smiled dopily, left hand moving to hold Blake's face, gazing into her eyes and attempting to read her expression.

Blake merely sighed and shook her head with a small laugh. "You're such hopelessly romantic, Yang." Moving her left hand to the wrist of Yang's robotic arm, she softly kissed the wrist, feeling the cold metal on her lips. "Try loving yourself, first. I care about that more."

Yang pulled away her metal arm in a fluid motion, recoiling at the strange, foreign touch. "I-if you say so." She stammered.

Blake chuckled still, standing upright and helping Yang onto her feet. It was odd seeing Yang so bashful. "I do. Now let's go, before Ruby comes charging in. I made a promise."

"Aw man, I forgot about the others." Yang murmured, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "Things sort of flew off of the handle. I hope everything is okay."

"Of course you did. It's okay, things are fine now." Blake smiled lovingly at Yang, her hand finding its way to Yang's, moulding itself to her palm as they both made their way out through the bay door, feeling reassured.

Sometimes, a breakdown is a good thing.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this AGES ago pretty much right after v6 ended and never uploaded it but i thought i might as well at this point. i read a comment abt yang's arm/blake's scar parallels and i really wanted to write smthn about it,,, we dont see yang being vulnerable in the show enough so i wanted write about tht too! also this issue never really seemed to be confronted in the show so i wanted to write my own little thing post v6 pre v7 that kind of dealt with it (hence the deleted scene tag) so i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> might have been some typos/poor grammar since i didnt really check over it much b4 uploading and i wrote this literally like over a year ago


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